Spiffy:

Iffy:

Arcade style of gameplay may turn off WW2 purists

The Xbox 360 gets a little World War II action this fall when Relic Entertainment and THQ team up to release The Outfit. The game is a squad-based shooter which sets aside the trappings of historical accuracy in favor of a more arcade experience that's heavy on action. In The Outfit, players choose from three playable squad leaders, each with their own skills and abilities, and lead two squads of soldiers on a variety of missions ranging from basic recon and rescue missions to run-'n-gun missions of pure destruction. Players can switch between the two squads on the fly, dividing their forces to gain a strategic advantage or combining their forces onto a mass of gunfire.

As players complete these missions, they'll gain action points that can be used to purchase upgrades in their arsenal, acquire tanks and other vehicles, build machinegun nests and anti-tank emplacements, or call for air and artillery strikes. These purchases can be made at any time during a mission, and are immediately air dropped to the player's location. Any lost squad members can also be replaced via air drops, ensuring there's never any shortage of firepower at your disposal. And if your own artillery isn't enough quite to your tastes, players can also hijack the enemy's weaponry and use their own tools against them.

The Outfit features fully interactive and destructible environments. If you can't find a path to your objective, the game encourages you to make one. Walls, trees, bridges, and even entire buildings can be leveled with ease. Based on the footage shown off at E3, the action is a fast-paced adrenaline rush. The game's ever-changing environment and the constant flow of troops from both sides of the battlefield guarantee that the hail of gunfire won't ever let up. The Outfit will also support both online and split-screen multiplayer gameplay, so you can invite your friends to join you on the frontlines.

Although there's no shortage of WW2 games on the market, The Outfit is different enough to stand apart from the rest. The game's emphasis on style should appeal to action junkies everywhere. We'll just have to wait until we see a playable build to see how much substance there is to go will all that style.